BY SHAYLYN RALSTON
Ranger Reporter
Amarillo College offers a variety of clubs to students that give them the opportunity to learn new skills and work throughout the community.
Some of the clubs available are Veterans of Amarillo College, the Amarillo College Engineering Society (ACES), the Photography Club and the Chemistry Club.
“All of our clubs do community service work and teach leadership skills,” said Heather Atchley, student life director.
There are many clubs from which to choose. Some are major-specific, but Atchley said others, especially on the Washington Street Campus, are open to any student.
Being involved with a club gives students planning to transfer to a university an opportunity to receive scholarships.
“Most of the clubs have unique scholarship opportunities,” Atchley said.
Clubs give students the opportunity to learn about things in ways they typically wouldn’t learn in a classroom. The clubs offer a hands-on approach to learning, not just reading from a textbook.
Criminal justice major Shelby Janssen is in the Veterans Club at AC. She said she chose the club because she is in the U.S. Army and because the club does a lot for the community.
“I think clubs are a good way of socializing and getting to know others who share your common interests,” Janssen said.
Collin Witherspoon, a mathematics instructor, is a sponsor of the ACES club. ACES, according to Witherspoon, is primarily a student organization. The sponsors bring in engineers from around the community to talk to the students about their type of work.
“We’ve had people from Bell Helicopter come in, and we also take tours of engineering facilities to see how things are done there,” Witherspoon said.
He said he believes being involved with clubs looks good on a resume. He said it shows that students involve themselves in public responsibility and shows that they are serious about their line of work and are not just trying to get by in the class.
If one is planning on going into a specific career field, being involved with a club in the same field would give a student an idea of what to expect to do with that job. It also could improve their skills.
“Employers like to see that people are prospective employees by looking at their extracurricular activities and experience in the community,” Atchley said.
For a list of all clubs offered at Amarillo College, visit: http://www.actx.edu/activities/index.php?module=article&id=
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